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Harden gives Rockets a tough exterior

Roy Ward

Houston Rockets guard James Harden is fouled during the win over the Hawks in Atlanta. Photo: ap

Shockwaves, or was it Thunder-claps, went across the NBA world when Oklahoma City traded James Harden on the verge of the new season.

Suddenly the Thunder were no certainty to make it back to the Western Conference finals while the Rockets had finally recruited a franchise player to call their own after frustrating fruitless swipes at Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard in the past 18 months.

It was surprising how many people forgot the Harden who dominated offensively for Arizona State before moving to the NBA joining Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook with the Thunder.

In two years as a Sun Devil, Harden averaged 17 and 20 points per game while averaging around 35 minutes a game in the 40-minute college matches.

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Many expected Harden's scoring to rise as he would become the Rockets go-to man, but few would have picked him to lead the league in scoring after the Rockets' first three matches.

Yet that is what the “Bearded One” has done, scoring 37 and 45 points in the Rockets first two wins while also dishing out assists and grabbing rebounds, then adding 24 in the overtime loss to Portland.

If the NBA season stopped right now Harden would be league MVP, or at worst in the All-NBA first team.

Anyone who invested in NBA League Pass has thanked their lucky stars as the Rockets, with off-season signings Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik and Carlos Delfino joining Harden to make their new side a highly entertaining line-up.

What has been most impressive about the Harden-era Rockets is the way the ball is shared at key moments, especially between Harden and Lin.

Both players have a history of scoring match-winning baskets and both love to have the ball when the game is on the line.

In the win over Atlanta the two players delegated the ball-handling between each other in the final minutes and both ended up drawing fouls and making vital free-throws to ice the game.

It's very early in the campaign and right now, Harden would certainly be playing on emotion, both from his rejection by the Thunder and the elation of scoring a reported $80 million, five-year contract from his new side. But as the hype of the NBA's opening ends, the dog-days of November and December will set in.

Harden will find he has to keep stepping up each night as part of the team which is very new and very unproven.

He looks a good match with Lin, Delfino and Rockets role-players Chandler Parsons and Patrick Patterson.

But being “The Man” is a tough gig and doing so in a mid-level team like the Rockets is even harder.

Yet from the early signs, Harden might have all the skills and drive to stand-up to those very challenges.